Letterkenny Municipal Council has agreed take over the maintenance of the battle site at Scariffholis on the outskirts of the town.
The council agreed to take over the site close to Newmills after a motion by Cllr Jimmy Kavanagh.
Cllr Kavanagh told the council the area was “badly neglected.”
Cllr. Kavanagh explained that the site was of huge historical significance and was the scene of one of the last major field battles fought on Irish soil.
The Battle of Scariffholis was fought in 1650 and up to 3,000 lives, mainly Irish, were lost. The names of many local town lands can also be traced back to the battle, including for example Meenaroy, Cllr. Kavanagh explained.
A commemorative committee erected a monument at the site in the year 2000 to mark the 350th anniversary of the event, it was then agreed that the council would take over the maintenance of the area, and the committee disbanded.
However cutbacks and recession meant that it was not always possible for the council to prioritise the site and it subsequently became neglected.
Cllr. Kavanagh referred to a motion he had put to the previous County council meeting where he asked the council to link up with the probation service, in order to carry out work that the council had not sufficient resources to deal with.
He suggested that the battle site at Scarriffholis was a perfect example of a task that the probation service would be able to take over, and he felt they would have the necessary resources to attend to the site on a regular basis.
The council have agreed to talk to the probation service about this and to agree a programme of maintenance for the area.
Cllr. Kavanagh thanked the officials for the positive response and his motion was seconded by Cllr. James Pat McDaid and agreed by all the members.